S7: Chapter 08: The Beginning of the End

“Yvie wake up, Yvie? Yvie wake up!” Ethan hovered over his daughter as she lay on his couch, passed out from what he could only hope was exertion. When finally her eyes fluttered he sighed a breath of relief and watched as she slowly regained her faculties. “Hey there Sunshine, I thought I’d lost you for a second there.”

“What? Where…how did we get to your place?”

“I drove us, Baby. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The explosion at the warehouse…and the smell of burning fuel.” 

“Your mask was leaking. I didn’t realize that until you nearly passed out after that second explosion. Something must have hit you. I pulled you out of there as fast as I could and brought you here. Pumped some clean O2 into your lungs but you wouldn’t wake up. How do you feel?”

“Dizzy.”

“Yeah. It might be that way for a little while; just until the effects of those chemicals wear out of your system. Have some water, it might help. And if you’d like something for the pain, I have some Tylenol in the medicine cabinet.”

“You have anything stronger?” Ethan nodded no and Yvette sighed. “Yes please.” Ethan excused himself to grab the bottle from the bathroom as Yvette took a look around the room. She remembered most of it from her last visit but there were minor changes here and there; like Austin and Autumn’s framed pictures over his mantle. Yvette tried to stand but felt her knees give out from the lightheadedness and quickly fell back to the couch. “Thank you,” she smiled up at her father as he returned with two pills for her. “What am I wearing?”

Ethan smiled and looked over her attire with a sigh, “Uh, I thought it was best I get you out of those clothes and into something that didn’t smell like a forest fire and fumes. I bathed you,” Yvette’s eyes shot up to his at the mention of a bath. “I gave you some clean clothes and brought you to the couch so I could monitor you while I cleaned up the evidence of our assault. I also put some Bactine on that. It should heal nicely.”

Yvette touched her face and hissed as her fingers ran over the scratch on her cheek. “Thank you.” The two sat in silence for a moment and Yvette noticed another picture on Ethan’s mantle. This one was of his team and she recognized Walters and Nelson standing beside him. “Were there any other survivors?” Ethan again shook his head no. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah me too. I should have moved to the contingency and got us all out of there before the others came.”

“There was no way you could have known more troops were on the way. We were having much success and the objective was obtained. You did the right thing,” she replied and gently squeezed his hand. “What about Sullivan, Pierce and Ames?”

“Honestly I’m not sure if they made it out or not. Local authorities have already descended on the location. No word as to whether or not the government has gotten involved yet but I suspect they will when the Delegate hears; they’ll want to cover this up.”

Yvette’s phone rang, vibrating against the glass and wood table in front of her creating a high pitched buzzing sound and she looked down at the caller ID. “It’s Brett,” she smiled and picked it up.

“I’ll give you some privacy.”

She waited for Ethan to leave the room before picking up the phone. Doing her best to settle her anxious nerves, she calmly pushed the talk button. “Hello?”

“Yvette, Babe. Damn you have no idea how great it is to hear your voice.”

“Aww getting a little homesick are you? That’s so cute.”

“Like they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder; although it doesn’t help with other things.”

“Yeah! Like we could do ‘other things’ anyway with the twins clamoring for our attention every few minutes, you’re funny Brett.”

“Hey I try. I suggested we duct tape them to their bouncy chairs and lock them in their room for an hour but you had concerns about that, remember?”

“I’m not torturing my children just so you can get your rocks off!” She could hear him laughing on the other end of the phone followed by what sounded like a drunken burp. “Have you guys been drinking?”

“What? Oh no that was a camel. They sort of have sounds like deep, throaty burps or as if they are gargling mouthwash. Scared the shit out of me the first time I heard it; now it’s just background noise. So how are you? More importantly how are my babies?”

“I’m gonna ignore that more importantly part for the sake of your continued health and just respond with not bad. Your Mom came and kidnapped them yesterday so I spent the day at Scott’s. She said she’ll return them to me Monday but I won’t hold my breath. I’m fairly certain if I ever want to see my children again I’ll have to pay a visit to Rockville.” Yvette bit her lower lip in thought as she decided whether or not to tell Brett about her activities with Ethan and Scott’s condition. Deciding to hold off until the boys got home she sighed dismally and swallowed back the thoughts. “How’s the hunt going? Hello? Brett? Do you hear an echo?”

“Nope. It must be on your end Babe, I don’t hear anything. Listen, I was just calling to tell you we found…”

“Wait. Something’s not right Brett. Let me call you from the landline, ok?”

“Uh…yeah…sure. You got the number?”

“No, it says unidentified. But it’s ok I know where you’re staying. I’ll just call the front desk and have them ring your room ok? Two minutes tops.”

“Ok. I love you.” Yvette hung up the line and stared at her phone a moment. The screen went black again as though it had turned itself off and she tossed it to the chair and started over to the landline. “Hello?”

“That’s much better. My phone’s been acting weird I think I need to have it looked at. So anyway, what is it you wanted to tell me?”

“Uh…well it’s sorta big and I wasn’t sure if I should tell you or not at this point to be honest.”

“Now Brett you know making the issue seem bigger is only going to pique my interests more. Come on, stop stalling and spill! What did you find?”

“Chris Landry.” The silence that followed between the two was both out of shock and concern. Yvette shook her head as though she misheard the name her husband just spoke and asked him to repeat it but it didn’t change.

“How did you…”

“Accidentally. We were running down a lead and saw him in one of the markets meeting with an Unsub. Dustin was able to get a tracker on his vehicle and we’ve been monitoring his movements since yesterday afternoon.” Brett waited a moment for Yvette’s nerves to settle. Even though he couldn’t see her, he knew she had to be pacing, fidgeting or both. “We’re gonna keep him in our sights Yve. I haven’t decided yet what course of action we’ll take but he’s not getting away from us; not this time.”

“I want him dead.”

“I know you do Baby and so do I but cooler heads must prevail here. We can’t risk an international incident in a country where technically we’re not supposed to be. We’ll get him; I promise. Listen Babe, I gotta run, we’re heading out to check another lead. I just wanted to touch base and see how things were going back home.”

“Ok. Be careful out there Brett.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Kiss the twins for me when you see them.”

“Ok. Bye.”

“How is he?” Ethan asked as Yvette entered the den.

“He’s fine. They’re uh…working a case that sort of led into something else.”

Ethan’s brow raised but it went unnoticed by Yvette as he sat the remote down on the arm of the sofa and leaned back against the cushions. “Listen, I know there are things that we don’t tell each other for whatever reason. But I want you to know that you can trust me Baby. And if you ever need to talk I’m here.”

“I know,” she smiled penitently and squeezed herself against him. A smile tugged at the corner of Ethan’s mouth and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“How are my grandbabies?”

“Growing smarter by the day. Austin has discovered what makes me laugh and he’s always working at getting that reaction; a big goof. He’s such a flirt too. We took them shopping for new clothes last week because I swear they are growing a size a day. While we’re at the store Austin slips out of the stroller, walks over to a woman with what could only be described as a triple Z cup size and asks her to pick him up. Looking adorable, as is his curse, she does and the moment he’s against her chest he starts pulling at her blouse until he has the top three buttons open and rests his head on her breasts. My face could not get any redder. Brett on the other hand took the opportunity to snap a picture while I’m just apologizing profusely and explaining to this poor woman who could not stop laughing about how they were breast fed and that he must have been hungry. Truth is he’s a breast man and she was just one of five women he’s done that to so far.”

“Oh wow, haha, that’s incredible. You’re gonna have your hands full when he’s a teenager.”

“Yeah, trust me I’m not looking forward to it. He’s a sweetheart too though; I love watching the way he naturally cares for and protects his baby sister. Like the nights I get off early and am with them, when Brett comes in the door they both try to rush him to say hi. Austin learned how to walk a month before Autumn, he’s our brawny baby; so strong. So while he’s able to run quickly on his steady legs, Autumn’s stumbling and tumbling on wobbly wheels. Austin will stop where he is, go back to her and pull her hand to help her walk the distance to their Dad. It’s just so precious I can’t even begin to explain. Thick as thieves those two.”

“It’s great they have each other. I know it was something that bothered Kat; having just the one child. She always thought you wanted a brother or sister. Plus she hated the idea of you growing old alone. It might have been nice if you’d had a playmate.”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t too fond of sharing,” Yvette smiled briefly before her thoughts dampened and she went back to her conversation with Scott. She hadn’t fully expressed her grief hearing that the man she’d grown up with and learned from for so long was fighting a losing battle with cancer. She had plans to go home and cry herself to sleep but thanks to Ethan, her night was changed dramatically. And now the idea of going back to an empty house was more of a depressing thought than she cared to acknowledge. Leaning deeper against Ethan’s shoulder, the scent of his cologne immersed her senses and took her back to a moment she remembered and loved most as a child; story time. Yvette looked up into the steely gray eyes of her biological father and smiled. “Dad, would it be ok if I spent the night?”

“Of course, Babygirl. I’ll go and get the guest room ready for you.”

“Alright, our Informant says that Mercer does business with a group of militia called the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis. Thanks to Dustin we know three locations they use as meeting sites here in Cairo, this being the most likely hiding place for our guy. We move quickly, we move quietly. Clear the room and go. Everyone knows the objective, let’s get it done.”

The team selected dawn for their raid to gain the element of surprise and hopefully pin Gerald Mercer and his collaborators down before anyone had the chance to escape. They were entering the premises without a warrant or consent from the local law enforcement and needed to move quickly before anyone alerted the authorities of their presence.

Hurriedly securing the area to protect their safety and that of the surrounding community, Brett gave the signal and the team rushed through the doors taking their positions. But their chaotic entrance promptly warned the occupants of the intrusion and the team watched three men jump from the fire escape out back and scamper into an awaiting Jeep. “Shit! It’s Landry! He’s running!” Dustin yelled and was out the door first with the others right on his heels. 

Brett jumped behind the wheel of his Jeep with Ryan at his right and immediately cut onto the dirt pathway behind the speeding Land Rover watching as Chris Landry swept through the rugged terrain with ease. Victor and Dustin hopped into their borrowed Humvee and quickly followed pursuit of the others. “Anyone see Mercer?” Brett asked, shifting directions until he was directly behind the zooming truck. Racing through the early morning desert sun, golden grains of sand formed large clouds of dust around the speeding vehicles, obscuring vision of the trail before them.

If not for the bright red brake lights of the vehicle in front of him, Brett would have no sense of direction. “This is getting really dangerous, really fast,” Ryan cautioned as he tested the grip of the seatbelt around his waist. “You sure you don’t want to back off and wait to see where he stops?” He was met with an angry glower from his boss and shrugged in response. “It was just a question.”

“This asshole slipped away from us once before and I promised Yvette I wouldn’t let it happen again.” Pinning the gas, the chase was on. Brett maneuvered the Jeep with incredible self-control despite the tension twisting his nerves in knots. Landry skirted the rocky hills and sand dunes hoping to cause the two vehicles behind him to crash into the mounds. Picking up speed, he interweaved between giant sand-scarred rocks kicking up swirls of mist and creating mini sandstorms to form at Brett’s windshield. 

Swerving to avoid hitting the veil of dirt, Brett momentarily lost control of the steering when clumps of sand gathered beneath him and spun his wheels. The barren desert they barreled through proved a hindrance, impeding the progress of their pursuit but he was determined to keep up with the escaping criminal. Passing an oasis enriched with tall palm trees, lush green grass, sprouting sunflowers and flowing water, the team quickly realized Landry was leading them to a heavily populated tourist trap. That fact became evident when they rounded an enormous granite rock formation and found themselves entering an Al-Simhara bazaar.

Taking a hard left, Brett narrowly missed a man rolling out of the path of Landry’s bumper and yanked his parking brake to avoid a group just ahead of him. Screeching, spinning and screaming rocked the tiny marketplace as the two vehicles squealed to an abrupt stop. Landry sneered at Ryan who stared him down from across the walkway. He’d managed to outrun them this long and was not about to give up without a fight now.

Gunning his engine, Landry aimed for a new group of tourists and Brett watched in terror as numerous panicked people scrambled to get away from the speeding truck. “Damn it!” he growled and launched his vehicle behind him. Their bumpers kissed, roughly scratching off the paint on the Land Rover as Brett tried to get himself into position for a PIT maneuver and find a tactical end to the high-speed chase but his efforts were in vain. 

Dodging three stray civilians, Victor stepped on the gas, advancing his position to keep pace with the lead car carrying the other half of his team across the coastal plane. The headlights of a wayward car sped towards him and Dustin and before there was time to react they felt the colossal impact against the side of the truck. Dustin’s body slammed against his seatbelt and shattering glass sliced his face and arms when their Humvee was sent careening into a large sand dune. The small car spun out before flipping into a trench and landing with a sickening thud on its back. “Victor just crashed!” Ryan announced with worry in his voice.

“Try and raise them on the walkie.” Tires screeched and a blaring horn screamed through the air from a distance as Brett continued the chase. They were closing in on another cluster of sand dunes and he was not about to let Landry create a similar scene to the one behind them. He slammed the gas pedal to the floor, hitting the Jeep’s top speed and rear ended the truck. Watching as the vehicle skidded through the sand and collided with the side of the mountain, Ryan’s jaw clenched with the horrendous crunch the vehicle made. A passenger was thrown through the windshield and the twisted, mangled wreck rolled over a small hill.

A gust of smoke seethed through the hood, curling over the rocks beside them and swaying like a flag of surrender in the air. Brett and Ryan exited the Jeep and rushed over to the scene to check the occupants of the crashed truck. Landry kicked his door open, coughing as gas fumes filled his lungs and Ryan wrapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists and tossed him into the back of the SUV. Checking the others for signs of life, Brett joined his partner and the two quickly sped from the area.  

They circled back around to Dustin and Victor’s accident scene and found them helping the civilians from their wrecked vehicle and onto level ground. “Holy shit,” Ryan hissed watching Dustin carrying a helpless child and Victor a lifeless woman away from the wreck. “This is bad man, this is really fucking bad.”

“Yeah. We need to get out of here, quick!” Brett motioned to the guys as they sat the mother and daughter on the ground in front of a few looky-loos.  

Sirens blared and they saw the approaching red lights from the responding emergency teams and Ryan again motioned for Dustin and Victor to book it. They jumped inside the backseat and Brett swiftly sped the path away from the accident, leaving the scene behind them. “Are you two ok?” Ryan asked over his shoulder.

“Yeah, we’re good considering,” Dustin responded, looking in the rearview at the pursuing vehicle. “Just some minor abrasions on our faces and arms; nothing a good night’s rest won’t heal.”

“Good.”

“You get Landry?”

“He’s passed out in the trunk. Listen, forget the hotel, we’re heading to the safe house in Tanta.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan. It won’t take the locals long to find out who rented that vehicle and when they do, we’ll have a hell of a time leaving the country.”

After driving the 50 miles it took to get from Al-Simhara to Tanta, Victor and Ryan entered the abandoned looking building set off from the remote desert first. They checked to make sure the lights were operable as well as running water and flagged Dustin into the garage and locked it behind him. “We should be fine here for a little while. Brett’s upstairs arranging transport for the five of us now.”

Victor lifted the still unconscious body of Chris Landry from the backseat of the Humvee and carried him into a small room beside the garage. Tossing him into a chair he heard the man groan and realized he was faking the lifeless state. A tiny smirk cracked his lips and Victor moved to quickly tie the man to the chair but was rewarded with a kick to his face for the effort. Noticing the ensuing scuffle, Ryan and Dustin rushed over and tackled Landry, pulling him off of Victor just as he took another blow to the jaw.

“Son of a bitch!” Victor growled and ran at Landry as Dustin got him tied down to the chair. Ryan held him back while he struggled to get at the man he once partnered with as a member of a Dark operations team. Victor pushed off from Ryan and spit a mouthful of blood at Landry’s feet before backing off towards the door.

“What the hell is going on down here?” Brett asked, rejoining the others downstairs. Noticing the blood on Victor’s lip he sighed and closed the door at the top of the platform. “Well you’re not making any friends down here are you?”

“Are we all set?” Ryan asked as Brett pulled a table towards them. Victor took the tray and pushed it closer to Landry’s right side while Dustin sealed up the windows and doors to ensure the place was fully soundproofed.

“Yes. Our transport back to the States has been arranged. But before that happens, Landry and I are gonna have a little chat wherein he’s gonna reveal everything he knows about Gerald Mercer and his attack on Yvette and what he’s doing here in Egypt.”

“You sure about that?” Landry asked as he remained slumped over the chair. “Because to me, that sounds like a lot of wishful thinking.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I have very little patience for you after what you did. And trust me; I am more than happy to let you rot in this basement. That is, if you don’t give me what I want.”

Landry slowly lifted his gaze towards the four men standing directly in front of him. To his beleaguered horror, a tray displaying a handful of dental tools and various devices of torture sat beside him. A wide grin followed a boisterous laugh and he leaned back on the rocky, wooden chair; squeaking a leg as he moved. “What’s this?” he asked with a sinister hiss and looked at Victor. “Are we gonna play doctor? As I recall Victor, you were never any good at the gory stuff. In fact as I remember it, you always let Yvette handle the torture while you stood behind her with your angry face on; ooh, scary! And where is she anyway? Or wait, let me guess, out buying diapers for this new role she’s taken on, hmm? Mommy is it? How is that beautiful little girl of hers doing anyway? Still calling me Daddy?”

Brett rushed forward and immediately slammed his fist into Landry’s chin, splitting his lip and knocking at least two teeth loose in the process. Landry felt his jaw rock and the metallic taste of blood fill his mouth. “My, my,” he chuckled dryly as he spit a mouthful of blood to the side. “I guess we are gonna play doctor after all! Go ahead and try. As my ex-partners can attest to, I’m very good at withstanding anything you got!” 

“We’ll see about that.” Landry heard a harsh, clanging sound scratch against the table as Brett gathered a scalpel and rubbing alcohol from the tray. Systematically he began slicing tiny papercut incisions into Landry’s forearm and sprinkling the alcohol into them. The man screamed and the sound of his voice echoed off the four walls of the tiny basement. “What does Mercer want here? And why did he attack my wife?”

“Maybe he’s looking for a nice vacation spot to bring his mistress, ever think of that?” Brett’s cut went deeper and a gush of blood oozed out of Landry’s arm and he rumbled louder from within his chest. “Fuck!”

 

“Tell me what I want to know and this can end here. Otherwise…”

“I graduate to water boarding? Or how about a nice round of electrocution with car battery? I see that dirty, little surprise on top of your toolkit over there.” A wicked smile grew on his lips and he laughed at the frustration on Brett’s face. “I’m not telling you a damn thing.”

“Get his shoes off,” Brett ordered and retreated to the small workstation across from them. As Dustin and Ryan removed the man’s footwear, Victor tested the strength of the ropes holding him in place. Looking up, Landry could see Brett deciding over his next weapon of choice before retrieving a hammer from the table and a handful of nails. “Why did Mercer try to kill my wife?”

“What can I say? The man’s a lousy shot. Had it been me, you’d have been attending her funeral instead.” Brett placed a nail at the top of Landry’s foot and brutally hammered it into his flesh. He yelled and tried to kick out but the ropes held him tightly to the chair. Brett took another nail and did the same to the other foot. Again, Landry roared in pain, feeling the thick pieces of metal sink beneath his skin and out through the other side. A third nail was placed just under his big toenail and Brett looked up, his eyes demanding an answer. “Fuck you!” was the only response he received and he wasted no time drilling a nail through each individual toe.

Climbing to his feet, Brett violently slammed his foot onto Landry’s with enough force to spurt a decent sized puddle of blood from out of his toes and onto the floor. Landry jerked back, but with nowhere to go, he was at the mercy of Brett’s unrelenting terror as again and again he smashed his foot down, breaking the middle toe on Landry’s left foot and shattering the bones in his pinky. “Brett…” Dustin cringed at the sound of the man choking on blood and his strangled cries but the look in his Boss’ face quickly made him back off.

“You have the power to end this before it goes any further,” Brett stated calmly before rocketing one fist followed by another head splitting blow to Landry’s jaw. Tears stung the corners of his eyes but he blinked them away. Landry’s ears were ringing and he watched a smirk tug at Brett’s lips while he rubbed his left hand over the bruising knuckles of his right. “You had enough yet? Because I can do this all day!”

“Yeah I can see that,” he laughed through a red mouth and a throat full of blood while looking up at his would-be assassin through the one good eye he had remaining. Brett’s fist made contact with a deafening crack. Numbing pain shot through his hand but he knew Landry felt it twice as hard on his battered face. Black dots spotted Landry’s vision and he rocked back with each blow, wincing with every twitch of his muscles. 

Brett felt his bruised flesh under his fist and could smell the scent of his fear as his hand connected with Landry’s stomach repeatedly. Landry grimaced in pain, his inner voice was giving up and there was no stopping his tongue from wagging at this point. “Wait, stop, I have something to say,” Landry choked up another mouthful and rubbed his chin on his shoulder to dab up the dripping blood. “It’s a juicy little bit that I know the Feds would be interested to learn,” he teased and smiled diabolically as he leaned back in his chair.

“What?” Brett growled angrily, balling his fist tightly in front of the man’s face as he prepared to hit him again.

“I ain’t saying. But I will tell you this; it involves your precious Yvette, a whole lot of money and even the President of the United States.”

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